“Trust in the moments”- Chelsea assistant Arno Michels throws club’s weight behind underperforming superstar

Chelsea assistant coach Arno Michels insists Blues will back forward Romelu Lukaku despite his poor form

Speaking after the Blues’ 2-1 win over League One side Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup (h/t Evening Standard), Chelsea assistant coach Arno Michels revealed that the club will continue to back striker Romelu Lukaku, despite his poor form in front of goal this season.

The Belgian played the full 120 minutes against Plymouth in the fourth round of the FA Cup, helping his side knock out the League One club and progress to the next stage of the domestic competition. The Belgian once again was unable to find the net as he continued his dry spell in front of goal this campaign.

Despite the performance, Michels offered his full support to the forward and said that the club will give the striker all the opportunities he needs to rediscover his scoring touch.

“We try to put him [on the pitch], give him opportunities, and we will keep on like this because he is an important player for us. He is a striker so therefore he also needs some trust in the moments he doesn’t score.”

Michels took charge of the Chelsea team for their fourth-round FA Cup game on the weekend as head coach Thomas Tuchel was ruled out after testing positive for Covid. The Blues managed to take one step forward in trying to win the tournament, despite the absence of their German boss.

Unlucky patch

Lukaku was brought in by Chelsea the previous summer to help them score goals and add quality and consistency to their attacking ranks. The former Manchester United striker was coming off the back of a brilliant season in Serie A, where his goals fired Inter Milan to a league title after 11 long years.

So far, however, the Belgium international has looked short on confidence and seems to have misplaced his scoring boots. Michels put this down to the striker being unlucky at times but insisted that the player was working hard for the team.

“For him, maybe, it’s a little bit tough right now to score. He is working a lot for the team, doing a lot of touches, but is a little bit unlucky.”

With Saturday’s FA Cup victory, Lukaku has now entered the second month of 2022 without scoring a goal for Chelsea, across all competitions. The club re-signed the forward for his goalscoring prowess, but after starting the season brightly, the 28-year-old has looked like a shadow of his former self.

Lukaku may be facing a goal drought at the moment, but there is no doubting the player’s commitment and desire to win for his club on the field. Michels was appreciative of this trait as well, which is why the striker keeps getting picked to lead the line for Chelsea.

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Of all the strikers in the Chelsea squad, anyone would put good money on Lukaku to fire them to glory in tournaments and score goals regularly. Such is the reputation of the forward, that going a few games without scoring would rile up several critics and fans about his ability.

Elite strikers like Lukaku always find a way to bounce back, and we can hope that the same happens soon with the player. The team look to be backing him through this rough patch of his, and that is more than what Lukaku could ask for as support. This may give him confidence that his coaches and teammates believe in his ability to come good once again, and see a resurgence in his form soon.